EQ-5 Mount - Setting Circles Advice

Is there a web site anywhere or can anyone provide me with some guidance on
setting up the EQ-5 Mount for equatorial observing? I'm particularly
concerned the setting circles appear to be adjustable and want the added
confidence they are correctly aligned with the mount so the mount is
correctly positioned before sighting on Polaris.

Some other scopes (Tal/Sovietski) seem to have fixed setting circles so its
relatively straightforward to park the scope with the setting circles at the
"zero position" to fix the mount before aligning on Polaris.

The EQ-5 "outer" RA circle appears to have a lock wheras the DEC circle
appears free moving.

All advice/tips/guidance welcomed.

Neil Morley.

The setting circles should be adjustable, since you need to do this to use them
properly. You need to have the OTA on top and the latitude adjustment set to
your latitude. Then, line the mount itself up on Polaris, which is close
enough for quick work. Then find a bright star to the South (if you are in the
Northrn hemisphere) about midway between Polaris and the horizon. It does not
need to be due South, it just needs to be about 90 degrees or so from Polaris.
Point the scope to it, then adjust the circles so they match the RA and Dec of
the star you have chosen. The Dec should be OK now, but the RA will need to be
driven or adjusted frequently to match the apparent motion of the stars in the
sky. You might want to check the Sky & Telescope home page and navigate to
their helpful advice. Best of luck.

Clear, Dark, Steady Skies!
(And considerate neighbors!!!)

Also, in case you do not know how to do this, you can go to google.com and do
a search on the words equatorial mount alignment. I did, and the first hit was

http://www.starizona.com/basics/polarg1.html
and there were lots of other hits. Try the search yourself and see which one
you like best....

Clear, Dark, Steady Skies!
(And considerate neighbors!!!)

Bill - thanks for all the advice.
Neil.

"Neil Morley" wrote in message
...
Is there a web site anywhere or can anyone provide me with some guidance
on
setting up the EQ-5 Mount for equatorial observing? I'm particularly
concerned the setting circles appear to be adjustable and want the added
confidence they are correctly aligned with the mount so the mount is
correctly positioned before sighting on Polaris.

Some other scopes (Tal/Sovietski) seem to have fixed setting circles so
its
relatively straightforward to park the scope with the setting circles at
the
"zero position" to fix the mount before aligning on Polaris.

The EQ-5 "outer" RA circle appears to have a lock wheras the DEC circle
appears free moving.

All advice/tips/guidance welcomed.

Neil Morley.


Hi Neil,

The information you need can be found at:

http://www.skywatchertelescope.com/D...ds/EQ3and5.pdf

As for the TAL setting circles, both of these can be moved and are locked in
place by a grub screw.

Andy West